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There is no war in Ba Sing Se (Avatar thread, no the other one)

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless Firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world.

VERSUS

AND ALSO

Spoiler:

AND THEN SOME BRILLIANT PERSON DECIDED TO LET SHYAMALAN DIRECT A LIVE-ACTION VERSION

See, I'm not crazy about the commercial. The rock music is awful. The rest is about as good as I'd expect-- Narnia-movie level.

It's cool that we finally got to see Appa and all the bending styles and a glimpse of the Blue Spirit.

Also: There was a marketing lady hinting at a series boxset coming out sometime this year. Also, the creators shot a documentary on the series at last year's Comic-Con, so that will probably be on there. I will probably buy it because of any new special features/awesome cover art.

I am weird because I generally like Shyamalan. I mean, I haven't seen any of his work since The Village, but I absolutely love Signs. I wasn't too sure he'd be a good fit for the series, but he seems pretty enthusiastic.

I can deal with some changes in the storyline, I know how adaptations work. Just depends on what exactly is changed.

The casting is confusing for me-- I'm not the protest-y type, and the race issues aren't quite a dealbreaker, but it's definitely weird. I'm not to the point of supporting the protest movement, but it's not like they don't have a leg to stand on. Depends on how "realistic" it will feel to see white people in this role or that role.

I'm not expecting anything as good as the show, but I'm still definitely going to see it, and probably buy it. I just hope it's not an embarrassment, and doesn't give the public an incorrect idea about the show.

Also, most of my feelings about the movie right now are too caught up in the unfortunate timing of that other Avatar movie's release. I feel like Michael Bolton in Office Space every time someone brings up the naming thing or gets them confused.

Watching the Super Bowl spot was heartbreaking for me. The special effects look amazing.

It's just a shame that the production worked to marginalize minority actors from the very first cast call (requesting "Caucasian or any other ethnicity" for the heroic roles).

And it's so sad that this opportunity for Hollywood to break the pattern of "whitening" people of color - Dragonball, 21, Extraordinary Measures, King of Fighters - has been lost.

At some point, a studio exec or a producer looked at these characters and decided they had to be cast Caucasian. Aang, steeped in Asian culture, and Katara and Sokka - dressed in Inuit clothing with dark complexions...

It's just so sad. And the snapshot in the new ad of Jackson Rathbone and Nicola Peltz, standing in a massive tribe of extras with Inuit heritage... it reminds me of the 1930s Charlie Chan films, where the main actor was a white guy in yellowface, with all the background extras of Asian descent.

Eighty years and nothing's changed.

I don't mean to "rain on anyone's parade." I just want to weigh in with how it feels from the perspective of an American who happens to be of a darker skin tone.

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Burden of ProofYou three boys picked a beautiful hill to die on.Registered Userregular